In 1998 I worked on an adventure TV show that saw a group of Canadian and American boaters travel from Alaska to Russia on Sea Doos. I wrote the show script and went on the trip. The Globe and Mail took the following story and held onto it for almost a year before giving it back (with a kill fee check) ... a boating magazine and a Vancouver based boating newspaper subsequently bought and carried the piece. The actual adventure aired as part of Power Boat TV.

By Stephen Weir

Passing through the Anchorage airport, Russian wilderness expert Andrey Velikanov stopped in front of the departure lounge newsstand, looked at the stack of clear plastic wrapped Playboy Magazines and gave loud thanks to Hugh Hefner. “Yeah, and to Jim Beam and the Marlboro Man too.” Mr. Velikanov was tipping his baseball cap to the American icons of sin because a gift of cigarettes, alcohol and “adult” magazines helped facilitate his release from arrest on a remot…

Cutline: left: Dick Wehrs masks fight for wall space in a Water Tower Pisan window filled condo.Far Left: No room for art in this small downtown condo.Below: Roving I, a Flickr photographer took this picture of art in a bathroom in Macau.

BIG CANVAS OR FLAT PANEL TELEVISION. FLOOR SCULPTURE OR UMBRELLA STAND. HOW DO CONDO OWNERS BRING ORIGINAL ART INTO THEIR LIVES. JOURNALIST NEEDS YOUR HELP IN RESEARCHING A FEATURE STORY ABOUT THE ART OF CONDO ZEN

Has the downtown condo boom hurt the sale of original art? If you don't have wall space do you just buy smaller art? The Zen of Condos (according to an article I wrote for the US trade magazine Paint Decorating Retailer) says that when you live in a finite space you must remove something old to make room for something new. Buy a chair? Throw out a coffee table!What about art? Buy a painting throw out a wall clock? In space challenged downtown condos the norm is for the builder to provide as much natural light as possible ... at the ex…

Toronto based Defence Company appoints Malcolm Stanton -- Director for Business Development

Highland Integrated Surveillance Systems, Inc. (HISS Inc). is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Malcolm Stanton as Director for Business Development for HISS, Inc. for the Middle East and Asian region.Malcolm brings over 40 years of experience that covers Customer Service, Program Management and Business Development in the Canadian and International Aerospace / Defence community. Most recently Malcolm Stanton was Director, Business Development for L-3 Communications - WESCAM, responsible for Business Development in the Asia- Pacific region.“We are pleased to welcome Malcolm to the HISS team and wish him every success in this challenging role,” said Roger Smibert, president and CEO of HISS Inc.HISS, Inc is an internationally recognized surveillance mission system solution integrator with a focus on applications in the military and paramilitary airborne, ground and marine sectors. HISS …

It looks news. It smells fresh. It has a new home warranty. Yet, some of the parts of its sum have been around at least once before. Recycled materials are beginning to be used in the construction of new condos, not to save money but to save the planet. When it comes to constructing Toronto condominiums EVERTHING old, from broken glass to discarded animal skin, is new again. In a drive to be green, developers are using recycled materials in almost every aspect of the building cycle.There isn’t a totally recycled condominium in Canada … yet. But a visit to a number of new building projects offers a glimpse of the future fast approaching. One building uses century-old wood for flooring in new half-million dollar condos, another uses concrete blocks made with old broken wine bottles. And then there is the building that has recycled leather car upholstery on the walls and floor.“ There is a consumer demand for all things…

Recycling is the cornerstone of the Three R’s. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. However, there are several different ways to recycle. In the condo construction industry there are three different types of recycled building material.

Salvage – The purest form of recycling is to make use of salvaged “stuff”. This means taking used building material (like bricks or wooden beams) and with little or no processing using them in the construction of a new structure. Since there is no mixing, treating, or processing the use of salvage is carbon neutral. It is so golden it is green!

Post-consumer recycled content – This refers to recyclable items that are components within the manufacturing process of new building material. When glass bottles are ground and then mixed with new material to create insulation, the insulation is said to contain post-consumer recycled content. The finished product is good but not squeaky green. That is because new materials have…

Like many other self-employed communicators in Toronto I have an exciting/active career. On one hand I am an active publicist working on many high profile projects including the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Toronto Caribbean Carnival and RBC Taylor Prize, Cundill Prize on the other, as a journalist I have one book published (The Sinking of the Mayflower) under my name and have ghost written two other books. I am the travel editor of Diver Magazine and I write travel stories, cultural stories and housing stories for a number of daily newspapers in Canada.I am a Huffington Post. For forty years I have been researching, watching and writing about the History of Diving in the Movies. In the pages of Diver Magazine and a variety of other publications, my articles have been titled Blood And Bubble movies. I have documented over 3,000 movies dating back to the 19th century that show actors/actresses diving or snorkeling on film. My website, with three Blogs and a photography section represent just four small aspects of my work. Always Busy. Never Bored. stephen@stephenweir.com.